Will Anyone Refinance An Underwater Mortgage

You can also try to wait it out if you don t want to move and believe your property value will eventually recover.

Will anyone refinance an underwater mortgage. Here s some more information on how the harp program works what a harp refinance entails and what it takes to qualify. Underwater mortgages or homes with negative equity have been a major problem over the last several years as recently as 2012 zillow reported that 31 4 percent of homeowners with a mortgage. Sometimes you ll also hear the term upside down underwater mortgages became really common after the housing crisis in 2008 when home values plummeted and homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages could no longer afford their payments. A good mortgage payment history is key to refinance eligibility even for underwater borrowers.

The mortgage market is awash in programs to help underwater home owners refinance but if you have a second mortgage or a home equity line that s causing you to owe more than your home is worth you could be left high and dry. For underwater borrowers refinancing simply means getting a new mortgage to replace your old one with the goal of reducing monthly payments lowering your interest rate or changing your loan program from an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage. In other words you ll have a hard time refinancing if you ve fallen behind on your payments. Generally you ll need to prove six months of current payments to qualify.

Refinancing an underwater mortgage is one strategy but it is not the only one. The thing is the home affordable refinance program also called harp was created for those who are in sarah s exact situation people with an underwater mortgage. The home affordable refinance program was a federal program that allowed homeowners to refinance underwater mortgages. Having a second mortgage or home equity line can make refinancing an underwater mortgage nearly impossible but one of these five strategies might bail out your refinance.